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Highly Recommended The St. Louis Film Critics Nominations Include:

If you are looking for something to watch either at home or in the theaters, here are films which St. Louis’ own film critics think are among the best films which have played or screened here this year. While the complete list of nominations can be found on the St. Louis Film Critics website (www.stlfilmcritics.org), below are some of the highlights and where or when you can find them for your viewing pleasure. The St. Louis Film Critics will announce their award winners Monday, December 17 by press release and on their website. The yearly awards are given to recognize the best in cinema shown in the St. Louis-area during past the year. In addition tot he reviews available in the St. Louis Film Critics’ website, more information about the films listed is available at The Internet Movie DataBase (www.imdb.com).

The nominations for Best Film are Moonrise Kingdom, which is available as streaming or DVD and BluRay, Argo, Life of Pi, and Lincoln, which are all in theaters currently, and Django Unchained, which opens Dec. 25 , and Zero Dark Thirty, which is schedule to open in early 2013 in St. Louis.

The Best Comedy category includes very diverse forms of humor: Moonrise Kingdom, The Cabin in the Woods, Ted (streaming, DVD, BluRay), Wreck-It Ralph (theaters), and Seven Psychopaths (currently unavailable).

Of interest to children and families, nominations for Best Animated Film are Brave, on streaming, DVD, and BluRay, ParaNorman, my personal favorite from the nominations, which is available in one theater, and on streaming, DVD, and BluRay, and Rise of the Guardians and Wreck-It Ralph, which are still in theaters; Frankenweenie is currently unavailable.

The performances which got a nomination nod means recommendations for additional films. Best Actress noms are Quvenzhané Wallis (Beasts of the Southern Wild) and Aubrey Plaza (Safety Not Guaranteed) which are available on streaming, DVD, and BluRay; Helen Mirren (Hitchcock) and Jennifer Lawrence (Silver Linings Playbook) which are in theaters, and Jessica Chastain (Zero Dark Thirty) which opens in 2013.

Best Actor noms are Denzel Washington (Flight), Daniel Day-Lewis (Lincoln), Bradley Cooper (Silver Linings Playbook), John Hawkes (The Sessions) which are all in at least one theater, and Jamie Foxx (Django Unchained) which opens December 25th; Joaquin Phoenix (The Master) is currently unavailable. Check out the St. Louis Film Critics’ website for supporting nominations.

A few other notable films which I highly recommend are The Fairy , a delightful French comedy with very little dialogue, for telling its charming story with cinematic images, The Magic of Belle Isle, (streaming, DVD, and BluRay), director Rob Reiner’s delightful sleeper, for Morgan Freeman’s stirring performance and a terrific screenplay.

The Fairy was also nominated by the St. Louis Film Critics for Foreign-Language Film and Art-House/Festival Film. Another film to keep a look out for is The Sapphires, which won the Audience Choice Award at the St. Louis International Film Festival, and is schedule for release in 2013.

The film is about four talented, Australian Aboriginal, teenage musicians who entertain the US troops in Vietnam and struggle against racism against Aborigines.

More of Olmsted’s reviews are available at www.thecinematicskinny.com.